Drug use screening or "drug testing" is common in certain occupations, particularly those affecting public safety, as a measure to reduce drug impairment on the job and to avoid liabilities associated with hiring job applicants who are drug users. The typical procedure is to obtain a urine sample from the employee or job applicant and to perform chemical procedures on the sample which indicate the presence in the sample of unique metabolites formed by physiological processing of certain drugs.
Two important issues arise in drug testing: integrity of the test procedure and privacy considerations of the individuals being tested. Regarding integrity of the testing, it is necessary that an obtained sample not be tampered with, that it be associated with the correct "donor" that an accurate analysis be made of the sample, and that the results be accurately reported for the correct donor. Privacy considerations arise because of individuals' reluctance to produce a urine sample on demand, especially if under the observation of a monitor.
Because of occupational and, possibly, legal liabilities which can ensue from a positive drug test, it is necessary to ensure a verifiable chain of custody of urine specimens from the donor to the testing laboratory and to perform an accurate chemical analysis of the sample. The most accurate method for analyzing a urine sample for trace substances is by gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). However, GC/MS is relatively expensive. Because drug testing is often carried out in large numbers, a more economical type of initial screen is usually performed, such as an enzyme multiplied immunoassay test (EMIT). Thereafter, a GC/MS analysis is performed only if the initial screen indicates the presence of one of the types of drugs tested for. In order to provide the capability of repeating the analysis of a sample should the results be challenged, it is common to divide a urine sample into two containers. Normally, the second container is identified and stored for a period of time only if the first portion of the sample tests positive.
It is generally desirable to allow an individual to produce a urine sample in privacy if adequate measures can be taken to either prevent sample tampering or to detect if tampering has occurred. However, some individuals have attempted to subvert the integrity of drug tests by the substitution of urine from others, by diluting a sample, by the addition of substances to mask drug related metabolites, and the like. In the area of tamper prevention, it is common to require donors to take off coats and leave brief cases, purses, and the like out of the room where the sample is to be produced. If such a room is a restroom or the like, it is common to place a dye in toilets and to secure faucets to discourage or prevent samples from being diluted by water from these sources. A commonly used method for detecting if a sample has been substituted or diluted is to measure the temperature of the sample. Normally, a freshly produced urine sample will have a temperature close to the average human body core temperature. Thus, if the measured temperature of a sample is outside a given range within a given period after sample production, tampering is suspected.
Because of the costs involved in employing reusable urine collection containers and then sterilizing same for reuse, disposable devices are preferred for urine specimens in drug testing. Although a male donor can conveniently produce a urine sample in a vial or bottle type container, with a portion poured into a second container for splitting the sample, this procedure is not generally convenient for female donors. For economic reasons, it would be preferred to provide a type of urine collection receptacle for use by either male and female donors. Additionally, bottle type containers do not always pour "neatly" that is without a portion spilling over the rim of the pouring container.